Texas High School soccer playoffs

Boys soccer playoffs: Semifinal previews

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As most expected, the semifinals in Classes AA, A and B have been postponed until Thursday due to the weather. Be sure to check below to see if the game time or location for your favorite team has been relocated. The Class C semis were played on Tuesday.

Here are my previews for the six remaining semifinals.

CLASS AA

No. 1 Arlington (17-1) vs. No. 5 Mamaroneck (13-4-1)
When: Thursday at 3 p.m.
Where: Arlington HS
Key players: Arl — Dillon Ashong, Sr., F; Vinny Colantuono, Sr., MF; Ryan Wilson, Sr., GK. Mk — Matt DiCicco, Jr., MF; Conor LeBlanc, Jr., F; Jack Spiradellis, Jr., D.
Outlook: The Admirals have been absolutely rolling through the playoff so far, outscoring Saunders and Suffern by a combined tally of 10-0. No other team in any class has been that dominant. And while Mamaroneck should be their toughest test yet, it would be difficult to bet against the top seed. The Tigers willed their way to an overtime win against Horace Greeley in the quarters without leading scorer Alex Alma, who suffered a concussion in the first round. He’s been ruled out for the rest of the playoffs, which gives Arlington even more of advantage. The Admirals’ depth coupled with Alma’s untimely injury makes this an uphill battle for the Tigers. Arlington is a senior-laden team which remains my pick to win it all, but this Mamaroneck team, which starts only one senior, will be back.
Prediction: Arlington 3, Mamaroneck 1

No. 3 Scarsdale (15-2-1) vs. No. 7 Yorktown (10-4-4)
When: Thursday at 3 p.m.
Where: Purchase College
Key players: Scar — Hayden Carey, Sr., GK; Nacho Marini, Sr., F; Fazl Shaikh, Sr., MF. Yk — Joey Landicino, Jr., F; Enzo Sangiacomo, Jr., MF; Giuliano Santucci, Jr., GK.
Outlook: Yorktown deserves a ton of credit for reaching this point in its first season as a Class AA team. The Huskers were in the Class A final last season, but the expectation was that the depth in AA would make it much more difficult to get back to a section final. Thanks to Monday’s 2-1 upset win over No. 2 Port Chester, Yorktown is on the verge of doing just that, which is even more impressive when you consider one of its top scorers, Marcello Spiniello, has been out with a broken foot. Enzo Sangiacomo, Joey Landicino and Alex Kaczor have picked up some of the scoring slack, while Giulianno Santucci has emerged as one of the best goalies in the class. Scarsdale, though, has won nine straight and seems to be improving with each game. Shutting out an explosive team like Ketcham in the quarters certainly opened some eyes. The Raiders have a very balanced attack and have been the most consistent team in AA outside of Arlington. I wouldn’t count out the Huskers, but Scarsdale is the pick.

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